This invention relates to a sew free button assembly for the temporary replacement of missing buttons on garments or for use as a closure device on a throw away garment such as a hospital gown or the like.
Articles of clothing such as mens dress shirts which are repeatedly worn and rewashed, are susceptible to considerable wear over their usable lifetime. As a consequence, the threads holding buttons to the garment fabric become weakened and oftentimes break whereupon the button is released from the garment. On these occasions, the wearer typically does not have time to make permanent repairs and either must replace the garment or in extreme cases, wear the garment with a missing button.
Buttons have been devised for temporarily replacing missing buttons, however, these devices have proven for the most part to be less than satisfactory. Typically, these prior art replacement buttons are supported upon a rigid standard that terminates in a point. The pointed end of the standard is driven through the garment at the button site and the penetrating end of the standard thereof grasped by a rather bulky releasable clamp.
The hole left by the button standard weakens the fabric and makes the sewing of replacement buttons difficult in that the thread tends to pull through the standard hole when stressed. The replacement button is expensive to manufacture and material costs are relatively high thus making its use economically questionable. Lastly, this type of replacement button can be damaged or damage the garment to which it is secured in the event the garment is passed through an automatic washing machine with the button still attached.